It was the win that sparked St George Illawarra's NRL season, but toppling Canberra again is going to be a much tougher ask this time around, according to Dragons coach Paul McGregor.
The Dragons host the Raiders at WIN Stadium on Sunday as the joint venture look to get back to winning ways after losing 16-10 to premiers South Sydney last Monday.
When the sides last met in March, the Dragons were being written off after two losses to open their season.
St George Illawarra answered their critics that day, pulling off a remarkable comeback from 18-0 down to pip the Raiders 22-20 in round three with the win starting a six-game winning run which ended against the Rabbitohs.
Canberra have clicked into gear after an indifferent start to the season and are shooting for four straight wins, coming into the game after belting Gold Coast 56-16.
"The Raiders over the last month have scored the most tries and are playing a nice attacking brand of football and are getting numbers into tackles," McGregor said.
"They've moved away from what they were like in round three, for sure, that's why they're winning games.
"We played well for 50 minutes in that game and then we went on our run."
Sunday's match pits the competition's best defensive outfit against and a Raiders side, who were the NRL's best attacking team going into round 10.
Coach Ricky Stuart's Raiders have scored an average 23.4 points per game while the Dragons have conceded an average 11.3 points in their first nine matches.
The Dragons wouldn't have lost many admirers after a gutsy performance against Souths.
McGregor said the Dragons' record over the past month showed just how far they've come.
Prior to last round, they scored wins over Canterbury, Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters.
The joint venture go into the game just two points from competition leaders Brisbane while the Raiders can join St George Illawarra on 12 points with a win.
Former NSW centre McGregor admits there were plenty of positives in the effort against Souths.
"It was two good defending sides and it was 16-10 and we certainly created a few opportunities," he said.
"Our decision making in the end wasn't as good as it needs to be but certainly we dented them a few times and put a few questions to them."
STATS THAT MATTER
* The Raiders have their best winning percentage against St George Illawarra, winning 16 of their past 25 matches.
* The Raiders have won four of five away games this season.
* The Dragons have conceded just 10 points in the final 20 minutes of their matches this season, 20 less than the next best team, the Raiders.
* Raiders captain Jarrod Croker will play his 150th career match after making his debut in Round 2, 2009 against the Roosters.
Share
